Collateral Damage
by jazzberryjuice
Summary: "Always begin with the end in mind." If she'd known about "the end"—three people dead, two in hiding, two missing— she never would have begun. Hyuuga Hinata had considered a thousand possible outcomes, all of them terrible, but this one took the cake. [pairings are a complicated mess]


**A/N: It's funny how I have so much to say until I start typing up an author's note. I guess I'll have to rewrite this after I think of something meaningful. If I ever do. But in the meantime, sorry for the hiatus and/or fandom change, and please enjoy this story (aka the story that just would not leave me alone)! **

**Also, if you're reading this, I love you more than I love Shark Week. **

**And a shrink is a psychologist.**

"It was then that Hook bit him.  
Not the pain of this but its unfairness was what dazed Peter. It made him quite helpless. He could only stare, horrified. Every child is affected thus the first time he is treated unfairly. All he thinks he has a right to when he comes to you to be yours is fairness. After you have been unfair to him he will love you again, but he will never afterwards be quite the same boy. No one ever gets over the first unfairness; no one except Peter."  
― J.M. Barrie, _Peter Pan_

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Prologue

Since she had stepped foot into the office, the shrink—a pretty redhead with soft curls and gold hooped earrings— had not so much as looked at Hinata—only showed her into a plush red armchair before rapid-firing questions her way.

The standard shrink questions for new patients, of course. At this point, Hinata was familiar enough with the process that she could answer almost all of them without thinking. She entertained herself by alternately studying the shrink's glossy auburn hair and the winding patterns on the Oriental carpet while wondering why the lack of eye contact bothered her so much.

There was something—her voice, her demeanor, something— unsettling about this woman. Something Hinata couldn't quite place; had she met this woman before?

Her mind drew a maddening blank.

"… Health issues?" the shrink asked, her sparkly purple pen traveling across the clipboard along with the printed words.

"No."

"Trouble sleeping?"  
"I am usually unable to sleep at all."  
"Do you have insomnia?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever attempted suicide?"

"No."  
"Have you ever contemplated suicide?"

A deep breath. "I believe all of us have, at some point in our lives."

The shrink ignored her, tucking a stray red strand behind her ear. Even that action Hinata vaguely recognized. She bit her lower lip in frustration as the shrink continued the interrogation. "Does anyone in your family have a history of mood disorders? Has any relative of yours exhibited emotional instability?"

"No." Her family, as far as she knew, did not _do _emotions.

Maybe her response had been too hasty. The woman's head snapped up and wide viridian eyes locked against Hinata's for a split second. There was a flash, a flash of _something. _Shock? Recognition? Fear? It passed by too quickly, even for Hinata's sharp eyes, eyes that people claimed could catch everything, read anyone. The redhead immediately severed the inadvertent connection, tearing her gaze away and refocusing on the clipboard still clenched in her now tense fingers.

Hinata had seen those eyes before. But the color—the _color_ was wrong!

_Viridian_. They had not been green the last time she'd seen them.

"On a scale of one to ten, with ten being perfect, can you rank your family life based on—"  
"No," she interrupted, the word accidentally tumbling out of her throat.

"… Excuse me?"  
Hinata sighed and elaborated on her accidental slip. "No, I know where this is going. These questions are to pinpoint a probable cause of my condition, but you are wasting your time."

"Oh?" The shrink did not look up this time. "We're almost done."

Hinata had been through the procedure enough times to know that they were _not _almost done. There were at least thirty more questions.

Hinata let out a puff of air. "I was not bullied at school. I was never sexually harassed or abused as a child or as an adult. It might interest you to know that I have no close friends and no ties to my family, but _none_ of that is _pertinent to my situation right now_." Her voice had begun to rise in pitch and she quickly cut herself off.

The shrink was jotting something down. _Indications of emotional instability, _Hinata guessed, letting her back fall against the armchair, abandoning her perfect posture. _Denial. Lack of self-control. Touchy._

A year ago, Hinata never would have allowed such break in composure. A year ago, she had had perfect self-control, unshakeable poise. Also a year ago, she might have cared. All her life she had been raised to bereserved and respectful and proper, but if there was one thing she had learned from this debacle, it was that meekness got you _nowhere._

Still, she had paid $120 for the session and she would be damned if she did not get her hour's worth. Even if she harbored doubts toward its effectiveness in "healing" her. (This was, after all, her sixth shrink. She had no idea why she kept trying, either.)

She took a deep breath, allowing the chilly office air to fill her lungs, slowing her heartbeat. "My apologies," she said emphatically. "What I mean to say is that although certain… aspects… of my personal life may be red flags for childhood trauma and the like, I assure you that my current condition has been triggered by recent events." She paused. "I have a theory about what my problem is."

The shrink's mouth tensed into a thin line of disapproval, yet another familiar action that she could not place. "Do tell, miss."

_Do tell, miss._

The tone was what clicked the last piece into place for Hinata's recognition. It was that unique balance of patience and patronization, achievable by only one person in the world.

"Severe disillusionment." At the shrink's raised eyebrows, Hinata shrugged her shoulders and gave a ghost of a smile. "A lot's happened in Konoha since your elopement, Ino."

**A/N: Do you like where this is going? Bad idea? Please leave a review! I would greatly appreciate ANY feedback. **

**~jazzberryjuice**


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